The Flock
by Lunary Canary
Summary: Swinster was born into a flock of Duckletts and Swannas. There is a test of strength and will that determines who you are as a wild pokemon. He finds he is attracted to a Ducklett who is already claimed by his close friend. As he finds trouble in his own flock, he runs into a 'flock' of humans. A choice between predator and prey. Everything changes at the toss of a pokeball.


**Chapter One**

The Driftveil Drawbridge is a massive, steel-red structure that went almost a mile long over the river that separated Driftveil from the glamour and seductive colors of Nimbasa City. Cargo trucks, minivans, bikers, and pedestrians crossed the bridge daily, all except when tall steam ships pass through. Then the bridge would transform into two retracting hands that made it so mechanically infamous.

Under the bridge, unbeknownst to most who passed over it, was a flock of Swanna and Ducklett. In the cove of the metal support beams was where the Swanna nested and protected the eggs. Duckletts of various sizes would wade and swim from one mini island to the next, playing games of who could climb the steel beams the farthest. There were already three Duckletts milling around the area, but soon as night would fall they would return to the nest.

Wan was a Swanna. A brittle, grey-feathered Swanna who was always left to take care of the eggs. It was a dangerous thing to protect the future born. Though most pokémon could smell that it was a guarded Swanna nest, there were always the few Basculin that would come and invade the area, hoping to take an egg or an unsuspecting Ducklett for its next meal.

"Wan! Wan!" cried one of the Duckletts as it paddled to the beginning of land. The murky water bubbled and a gum wrapper almost trapped its foot. "Wan! When is our new friend coming out?"

"Yeah! Yeah! Ye—Oh!" Another one of the excited Duckletts was flapping meekly, only to fall out of the sky and dunk head-first into the shallow water. Chick, who had previously been calling out to Wan, began snickering at Ducky's fail.

"Is it a girl? Is it a boy?" Chick asked. Ducky clambered out of the water and pushed past Chick to try and see. Wan had become a protective block over the egg so that nothing could see it, not even sunlight. The cove of the support beam was only so big that only one Swanna could fit there.

"How should I know?" asked Wan finally to stop their incessant squall. "You cannot simply tell a gender by its egg. We must wait and watch. How would I know what gender you two were, had you still been eggs?"

"You'd know I was a boy, because I'm buff!" said Chick, sticking out his fluffy, tiny chest, standing on the tip of his webbed feet. Ducky playfully pushed him over. The two became a flurry of blue feathers as they play fought, simply thwacking each other with their wings. Ducky had fallen over on his back, halfway into the water. Chick started laughing—then choking, when something got caught in his throat. With a violent cough, a blue orb shot straight through his rubbery beak, bouncing off a nearby support beam, angling off the belly of the bridge, and landing recklessly next to Ducky and causing a weak, turbulent ripple.

"Hey! What was that?" said Ducky accusingly, astonished that Chick would actually go to the measure of using a move on him.

"I—I—" Chick moved a wing to his mouth, unsure what small power he had just unleashed. He could've really hurt his friend, and the power he had just been bragging about swelled with guilt.

"Wan, Chick tried to hurt me!" cried Ducky.

"Na-uh! It was an accident!" Chick said.

Wan ruffled his feathers and came closer to them, leaving the egg to sit in the corner of the small cove, alone.

"Nothing to be afraid of," said Wan, inspecting the water that had just been trifled with. "Chick is older, so naturally he'd start learning moves faster than you, Ducky." Ducky was visibly envious. Wan said, "But, he's still young, so Water Pulse was more of a Water-splash. Nothing of an explosion like Delta would've done. All you did was kick up bubbles."

"Water Pulse, is that what it was?" Chick said, now in awe. To be able to do something that Delta could do—it made him unbelievably proud. He had a connection with their leader, something tangible that they didn't have before.

"Like I said, a weak little thing. Nothing that practice couldn't solve, a little shooting here, a little bullet there...Sure, you'll be a monstrous menace in no time." Wan said, brandishing a wing with a shrug. Chick hopped up excitedly at the thought, while Ducky merrily grimaced, imagining being his main target when the two mastered flying.

Then Chick heard rustling, and rolling, and looked up at Wan who seemed to have sensed nothing, just staring off into the sky. Both Duckletts looked out from either side of Wan's wide physique. Through Wan's dirty grey feathers, Chick saw a green fish hopping on the surface, in front of him, he pushed...

"Wan! They're taking the egg!" Chick cried.

"Don't be ridiculous..." Wan started, swiveling his head around—"Oh—oh dear! No! Shoo, shoo diseased dinner!" Wan squawked to the two Basculins that had teamed up for the hunt. The egg quickly found water, and bobbed there. The bigger Basculin stayed on land and flopped, jumping forward—it and Wan's heads collided, and Wan shuddered backwards, thoughts cut off by pain. Ducky began fleeing south, while Chick looked back and forth precariously, unsure who to help, his crippling friend Wan or the little egg being pushed away by the other Basculin—

And just on time, five Swannas in the formation of a V came speeding towards their hideout under the bridge through the oncoming night sky. In the middle was Delta, the strongest of the flock, the leader, the one with thick, pristine white feathers and the bluest hued breast plumage. Delta broke from the group, coming in faster, sharper, a sparkling blue aura gathering around its body—and he cut through the invading Basculin who was trying to escape, slicing it into uneven halves.

The other, smaller Basculin cried in defeat, abandoning the egg, and fled out of sight. Delta landed softly in the water just as the other Swannas reached the cove. The four shared wondering glances; one at Wan, who looked ashamed under Delta's beady eyes; one at Delta, who shook his head in grievance; one at the egg, which continued to bob innocently under the rumble of the drawbridge.

* * *

Swinster found it much more amusing to live in Driftveil Park than under the drawbridge.

There was more to see, more to do. There were more pokémon to play with, more places to hide in, and more opportunities to beg for food from old women sitting on park benches. At the park, he could chase around Chick and Ducky much for efficiently with its flat grounds and tickling grass, instead of the uneven, sloping and bedrock ridden land of the cove. The water in the fountain, Swinster found refreshing and cleaner than that under the bridge, where discarded McDonalds cups and burger wrappers could be found. And the humans, oh, there were so many friendly humans at the park.

Big humans, little humans, weird humans, affectionate humans! They came in all shapes and sizes, in all colors and forms, and Swinster had fun observing them from the trees and the fountain, and enjoyed splashing waters on those who had taken a seat on the fountain ledge. He had been chased, battled, and had round sphere things thrown at him several times during these outings, but always when the sun began to set Swinster knew it was time to return home to the cove where an always nervous Wan would wait, and a reclusive Delta would look sinister and distrusting.

Chick and Ducky would be nervous of him, whenever they let him alone at the park. Both had more daunting duties now that they had grown into tougher Duckletts, Duckletts worthy of being caught by humans. Both would train their tail feathers off, mastering a Water Pulse that could shake the support beams of the bridge, or do speeding Aerial Aces where Chick would still be the fastest. The air he passed would crackle as he went, sometimes effecting lampposts and spinning the rectangular glass. Ducky would get jealous instantly.

But Swinster saw no need in training. He could hide and fly away from any predator, and he had no aspirations of becoming a domesticated pokémon. When he returned to the cove, Chick and Ducky were already back and chewing on remains of Basculin that Delta had caught. Ever since the incident when Swinster was an egg, Delta would always come back a few hours early of hunting, just to be sure everyone was still alive.

Swinster paddled up to his friends. They had left him nothing but the skeleton of what once had been swimming.

"No fair!" He cried, stamping a foot.

"Ya snooze, ya lose!" Chick said, grinning and dancing around, feeling full and satisfied.

"You could have left me some!" Swinster said.

"You could have come with us to the skies too, instead of the park where the humans fester." Ducky said, feeling that that balanced their actions.

"No! I don't wanna!" Swinster said, still in the whiny, high voice. Delta was nearby and closing his eyes in annoyance. Swinster was still whining about how unfair and greedy the two were when Delta dropped big blue berries in front of him. Chick and Ducky dove for it, but Delta stuck out his foot and prevented the two from touching it.

"You two have already had your share." Delta said plainly. Swinster laughed at them indifferently and went for the berries. Chick and Ducky walked away, grumbling about how Delta favored Swinster when Swinster did nothing but play and eat all day, instead of they, who actually tried to make themselves stronger and worthy of his praise. Delta looked down to Swinster, who had finished off the branch of Oran berries. "You smell of purified human water." He said.

"I swam in the big fountain in the middle of the park!" said Swinster happily, naively, still very happy to have found a safe place that wasn't the dirty cove. "There was a girl there who fed me popcorn! She petted me too and it was soft, and I.." Swinster continued on, but Delta had no interest and began looking up at the darkening sky, something that Wan did often when he was awake.

"Their hospitality will have its end." Said Delta as Swinster was in mid-swing of his story of playing tag with the girl at the fountain.

"Hm? No, it won't!" Swinster protested. "Humans will always be generous! I could go anywhere and they throw me food!"

Delta laughed dryly to humor the recently hatched duck. "Not generous, just foolish. Many do not know that you are a wild pokémon until you are successfully caught in a pokéball."

"A what?" Swinster's eyes glinted with uncertainty. He had heard Chick speak of this before, but hadn't been paying attention when he did.

"They're these capturing devices," Delta said. "One touch," Delta took a piece of Swinster's feather and tugged it, "and you are sucked in. There are precious seconds in where you can fight your way out, to bust through the glass before it solidifies completely. When it does, and if you're still inside...you will be trapped inside, forever."

Swinster became silent. This pokéball business did not sound fun at all.

"That can't be true." Swinster said cautiously. Delta released his feathers.

"You see that some of us go missing. Head count at night, and sometimes we go from fifteen to thirteen. We do not see Ducklett carcass, or the remains of a Swanna. We can assume that the humans have captured them." Delta momentarily closed his eyes. "When you are captured, you are gone from the flock forever. You tend to the will of your new leader."

"I don't want a different leader."

Delta refrained from smiling. "It's inevitable. You must be careful around the humans, because you never know when they'll turn around and throw a ball at you. That is why I resent you going any closer to that park." Delta then began walking away, until his feet hit the water and he was swimming.

Swinster sat on the ground, later next to Wan. He stayed morosely quiet, pondering the dark, evil abyss of the pokéball that Delta had described. And to think, two of them had been thrown at him today—two chances that could've torn him away from the flock forever.

Thinking of this, he never returned to the park alone.

* * *

"Where's the damn popcorn?"

"In the microwave! Quit shouting!"

"NOT UNTIL YOU GET THE POPCORN!"

"MY PARENTS ARE _ASLEEP_ MONIQUE, SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"...Oh! It's on, it's _on_! Get over here!"

Carmella plopped a large bowl of popcorn on the low table between them. Monique shushed an eye-rolling Carmella and vamped the volume high. Carmella tried to remind her that her parents were sleeping, but Monique promptly shushed her as the Unova League reality series played its odd, 23-second theme song.

On screen, the announcer did a recap of yesterday's preliminary rounds. This year three-hundred twenty-four trainers of all ages ten and up entered the Unova League. Of the 162 battles, only a hundred had been showcased in the 6-hour time slot. Some had gone as little as ten seconds while other battles took almost five to eight minutes. Now that the preliminaries were over, the projected top ten had been selected and were soon to be shown on screen. The projected top ten always had the most anticipated promotions.

"I hope it's someone worth gushing over." Monique said as the recaps played.

Carmella shrugged, leaning forward in a position that could get her a hunchback. "I hope they have someone _intelligent _focused on the show for once. Last year's round of cowboys and strippers was utterly disappointing."

"I thought the cowboy was pretty hot."

"The only thing he wore to the battles was a vest and pair of jeans."

Monique jumped her brows, implying that _that _was the reason the cowboy had been focused on, even when he didn't last after the third round. Carmella grunted in disgust. She found that the media pinpointed winners like those on Unovan Idol did; they picked either the most good-looking, the most dynamic, and what she was hoping, someone with actual substance and a decent pokémon team to back them up.

The sliding door behind them _tink_ed, and Carmella, torn from the recap, turned around to see a male friend of hers waiting at the door, giving her a simple pout to show how he felt about being cast out. She ran to the door and allowed him inside.

"I didn't miss much, did I? I ran into a shark on the way here! Don't blame me!" He cried, leaping over the long couch facing the TV and landing on the middle slot.

"Hey to you too, Rambo." Carmella muttered, taking a seat at the far right, where Rambo's gangly limbs didn't stretch as if he owned the couch.

"HAH! You can't run into a shark in Anville. There's no water." Monique said pointedly, not even turning from the screen.

"...Okay, I just forgot." Rambo shrugged.

"Next time, I keep you on the porch." Carmella laughed lightly. She was shushed by both her friends as the recap ended and the host, Alder, current champion of the region, appeared in the announcer's box in the main stadium. He said the usual narrator things that went subtitled at the bottom of the TV, and then, a flurry of pictures went from left to right, displaying all those who were proceeding for the second round. Momentarily a picture would be plucked from the pile, their name flashed on the screen, and then the accordion would continue to roll. Once it finally got to the last person, the ten plucked photos returned to the screen, staying there for several moments to roll all the stats, such as age, pokémon, and home town. Three of them were outlined in gold, chosen as the fan-picked favorites.

"Aww, our psychic boy didn't make the favorites!" Monique whined. "He had _such _the cutest colored eyes!"

"Actually, the one I picked made it. Right there, the one with the purple sweater." Carmella said, calmer than her friend.

"No way! I thought we agreed on psychic boy!"

"Psychic boy isn't going to make it to the next round."

"You know," Rambo said in between their banter, "I'm not comfortable with you two eyeing the men on this show like limber gazelles."

"Shush, jersey legs!" Monique snapped as the first person was introduced. The favorites were introduced as a still-frame picture that switched to video, introducing who they were and what their dream was. Then miscellaneous, behind-the-scenes clips would play, and it strummed Carmella's heart strings to see a young father who was picked who said, if he wins the league, he'll send all the money to the mother of his child so that they could bring food to the table. Monique had rolled her eyes and said that all the sob-cases were going to be paid double the league money since they were picked as favorites, so it wasn't worth crying over.

"Oh, fu—" Carmella bit her lip, resisting the urge to scream and kick and throw popcorn kernels at the TV. The guy that was on the screen, the one who had flashed that irritable million-dollar smile—she knew him. She _knew _him. She dated him last year. Her ex-boyfriend had made it to the pokémon league, and he was in the projected top 10.

Last year, Carmella was an impressionable 14-year old, fourth year denied of a pokémon journey. She had long given up since her eleventh birthday, but just the thought of high school and she had tried again at the mercy of her parents and pitched the idea of a quaint, simple pokémon journey. She had argued that she wasn't the same naïve 10-year old, that she could handle money, that she could take care of herself, that she wouldn't get lost. Still, she was denied.

Her first year of high school went incredibly smoothly. She didn't attract trouble, and she warded off the occasional advances of whoever could be a potential love interest. She didn't attract anyone she had seemingly any interest in, and those that she did have interest in, either didn't know she existed or didn't acknowledge her very small hints. She wasn't desperate to be in a relationship, so being pulled into one with Nate had certainly surprised her.

They started off as friends. In her small nature, she was surprised that someone a grade above her would even acknowledge her presence. Nate took her out, even at her protests, and they had fun. But after a month or two, when he tried to kiss her and she cringed away, he started distancing himself. Then finally, he told her the news:

He was leaving school to go on a pokémon journey. It was January when he left, right after the league had ended, so he would have plenty of time to collect the needed badges to enter the next one in December. The week before he left, he requested that they break up so they could see other people. He didn't plan on returning to Anville town until after the league, and he didn't want to hold her back. The week after he left, he began posting pictures of his journey. The first thing Carmella noticed was that in every picture there was girl with brunette hair, and she was always smiling at him, or kissing his cheek.

And what's more, she had bigger boobs than Carmella.

"Hey, it's Nate! He actually made it." Rambo said, fishing Carmella from her thoughts.

"To think he got anywhere past this old town." Monique scoffed. Carmella nodded silently, making sure not to voice any of the acid thoughts she had about him. In all of the behind-the-scenes footage of Nate, he was with that same brunette.

After the introductions, the battles went underway. Only the first would be live and the next few following would be pre-taped, since multiple battles happened at one time. During commercials, Carmella moped about Nate's battle, which had been the first to show after the second set. He used a Blastoise that had a high stamina and powerful water attacks. She raged with jealousy, how he had the substance and the power, and the prettiest girlfriend on top of that. Then she thought, if only, if only.

_If only I had a chance at the leagues, _she thought, _then I'd beat Nate and show him how much he needs me._

* * *

"We are going to migrate."

Through the months, Swinster had gotten used to the cove. It must've been some stupid luck that the moment he finally had a place to properly call "home", Delta would say that they needed to move the flock to a new location.

"This place holds nothing for us." Delta continued to the crowd of blue and white birds. "It is dirty and murky, and throughout the day it is continually noisy. This place has been a temporary nest due to the destruction of our old one. For the past few months, Ducky and I would go out and scout for a new place or for a flock like our own."

Ducky stepped forward. He was now a tall, thinly feathered Swanna with small tufts of blue breast feathers. Ducky was more agile than powerful, but it proved better in his department as he could now outfly anyone in the flock, sometimes even Delta.

Ducky spoke in a shivered, short voice that went with his impatience and adopted neurotic nature. Even with the flock guarding at every angle, he never felt a hundred percent safe. "I—I have found another Swanna flock," he said. "They are a two-days flight away near the human city of Mistralton. I have spoken with their—their leader, and he welcomes us with open arms. Ih-ih-if we do our share, that is. He will push us out, if we only take their food and not forage for ourselves."

"It will be fine." Delta reassured to the group. "Ducky says that they have a large flock. It will be very easy for many of you to find mates."

To this many of the Swannas and older Duckletts would give a shout, though Swinster stayed silent and uncomfortable. Everyone here was like family to him, and he couldn't possibly see him loving any of them, much less _mating _with them.

"When will we leave?" Wan, next to Swinster, asked.

"We leave tomorrow morning." Delta answered stiffly. "I will send a slower team to leave tonight so that we will all reach the place at the same time. Ducky will take that group. I will take the rest, with the eggs, in the morning."

"How will they see at night?" Swinster asked, but not aloud. Delta heard, nevertheless.

"It is never completely dark," Delta said. "The stars, and Ducky, will guide you."

When the meeting adjourned, Ducky hobbled over to Swinster and asked if he would come with him with the first group.

"I don't know." Swinster had admitted. He wasn't sure if he was ready to leave yet. He didn't want to leave their hideout in the cove, or Driftveil Park. He also couldn't stomach the idea of flying all night, in the dark, where it was possible to be ambushed by others in the sky.

"Think about it." Ducky said. "It'll just be us guys. We can stop every now and then, if you get tired. Think about it."

Swinster parted from Ducky and went to Wan, who was resting in the egg cove. Behind him were four eggs, each the same color. The new generation, as Wan had said, and he couldn't wait to see who they would be. He says that he wishes all would turn out like Swinster—ambitious, rambunctious, and with the capacity to grow into a powerful pokémon. He knew that not all of them would survive, but Wan hoped that one would be just like Swinster.

Swinster knew why. Secretly he thought of Wan as his father. He wasn't sure who of the flock was his father, since no one else really spoke to him besides Wan, Ducky, Chick, and the occasional input of Delta. Wan said that he only guarded the eggs, but he felt like all of those that he raised were his own sons and daughters. Swinster felt pride in being part of Wan's imaginary family. Wan was always there with wise advise. If Delta wasn't leader, surely Wan would've been next for the position. Wan couldn't be leader though, because he was getting older and slower and it pained him to do a single Aerial Ace without needing to rest afterwards.

"Wan," Swinster began, hoping he was awake. "Do you think I should go?"

Wan turned his neck slowly as he adjusted sleeping positions. Eyes still closed, he muttered, "We're all going, Swinster..."

"No...I mean with the night group. The slow group." Swinster said. "Do you think I should go?"

"Wherever you are loved or accepted, you should..."

"But you wouldn't be there." Swinster said.

Wan opened his eyes now, setting them on the small frame of Swinster's belly and feathers.

"I have my own duties." Wan said. "I am the caretaker. As much as I care for you Swinster, I cannot hold you back. The bonds that you make with your fellow flock members is more important than the one you have with me. You will want future powerful allies. Ducky will help you improve, as will the rest of his team."

Swinster's eyes began to tear up.

"It's only two days, Swinster. Man up." Wan had sounded angry then, and turned on his side so that his back was facing Swinster. Swinster shook off the tears and understood why Wan was being callous. Wan wanted him to become strong like the others, and it was impossible for him to grow while still holding on to his wing.

"I'll come with you." Swinster said, coming along side Ducky, who had been speaking with a female Swanna. Ducky smiled and fluttered his feathers appreciatively.

Delta wished the team a good luck, and then they were off into the night, leaving behind the dirty cove and the big red bridge and the sounds of car tires and truck horns. Soon, the buildings of Driftveil were no bigger than stumps. Swinster felt a wave of melancholy as he flew, and he wanted to cry for leaving Wan behind, but he had to prove to be tough to show the others he was worth flying with them.

With eyes glued to the others' tail feathers, Swinster relived the memory of the first time he took Wan to Driftveil Park, and how happy he'd been. How happy they both had been, frolicking in the big fountain. Wan's feathers were beginning to get cleaner, whiter, and Swinster had been able to get a glimpse of the magnificent bird Wan had once been.

* * *

Winter break ended the first week of January. Carmella spent it peacefully with her two friends. She hung out at Rambo's family store on one day, and would go to the outlet with Monique the next. She could never get the two in the same place unless it was in her house watching the Unova League. Both her friends ran on two completely different wheels. Whereas Monique filled her life with vibrant colors and activities, bringing along a horde of beautiful entourage to the outings, Rambo spent his time working at the store or taking care of his pet Hoothoot. Carmella enjoyed both of their company, but sometimes with Monique she felt like a Goldeen in a sea of Seakings, and Rambo, sometimes he was in one of his moods where he didn't want to see anyone.

On the first day back at school, Carmella followed the crowd to the cafeteria where everyone congregated before the first bell. She noticed that the crowd went to circle around a single table in the north end of the cafeteria, not to wait in line for a chance at the vending machines, but to marvel in the wonder of the return of Nate.

From the turnout of the crowd, it was clear to Carmella that everyone had been watching the League battles and had been captivated at the thought of one of their own being a part of a region-wide event. If Nate hadn't been famous before he left, he would be now. He hadn't gotten past the fourth round, yet he returned as a hero. Everyone wanted to talk to him. They wanted to ask about the battles and the people he had met, and the mystery brunette who had been with him during the entire ride.

_Now's the time, _Carmella thought. She would push through the crowd, emerge at the top, and give Nate a huge hug that would remind him that they were a couple before all this. That during the wait, she knew they would be back together.

So she pushed. She saw those familiar to her, like Joann from English, or Derrick from Culinary. She thought she saw a bob of Monique's head, but the sea of teenagers was hard to decipher through. She avoided touching the seniors, who presently had more social stability than she did, and she plowed through the freshman, who didn't know Nate went to this school before and felt like the luckiest kids in the world to attend the same as his.

Carmella emerged at the front and waved at Nate. He wasn't paying attention. He was speaking with a group of people, a few friends of his that Carmella remembered but was never introduced to. She moved around the table, getting into the line of his vision.

"Nate!" She said. He looked up, his dark eyes meeting the irresolute brown ones of her own. "Nate—hi!" She said, a goofy grin on her face, her left hand above her face, swinging wildly to be seen. Nate did a quick nod in recognition, then lowered his head, returning to speaking with his friends.

Carmella's hand dropped. She had expected more than that, more than a measly head nod that he gave to strangers. She expected him to stand up, push through the crowd, and sweep her off her feet into a hug. But he didn't, and he seemed more content to telling his traveling stories with his friends. Something Carmella apparently never was.

Feeling betrayed and ignored, Carmella pushed herself out of the crowd and went for the library, where all her real friends came in paper-bound pages.

* * *

"Mel! Mel look! I can hang upside down!"

Carmella was now in what her mother called, the "Depression Days". All day she would sigh, looking through pictures that she had taken with Nate when they were a couple, wishing that things had been the same between them. She felt completely dropped from Nate's life. He was untouchable, untalkable, and when they passed each other in the hallway, unlookable. The only way she could take her mind off the tragedy was by reading the _Ash Ketchum Chronicles_. The book was so overwhelming that while taking her mind off Nate, is also made it easy for her to ignore her little sister Fran, who was hanging upside down from the monkey bars in their backyard play set.

Fran frowned, though from the way she was hanging it looked like she was smiling. The two looked much alike, with the same apricot skin tone, though Fran was darker because she spent more time outside. Two years apart and Fran was almost the same height as her sister.

But they had their differences in appearances as they did in personality. Fran was more outgoing, more likely to take risks and made and lost friends much faster than her sister. She often got into trouble too, as she ventured past the backyard to the woods a half mile away to where wild pokémon would nest. Sometimes she brought them home and Carmella would have to shoo them out of the house. Carmella came home with stacks of books and a look of loneliness; Fran came home with a big grin taking up her face and a few new scrapes and bruises too.

"Mel, look up!" Fran cried, wisps of white air coming from her breath from the cold air. Carmella ignored her from the lawn chair. "Mel—!" Fran's legs slipped and she came crashing into a bank of snow. Carmella only looked up then, asking if she needed to get the first aid kit. Fran crushed through the snow, arriving back on the cement porch in front of Carmella, hair still dripping of snow. "You missed it! I was hanging upside down!"

"I saw." Carmella said, uninterested.

"Na-uh! You were reading that stupid book!"

Carmella's eyes narrowed slightly. "This book is not _stupid_. It's _beautiful_. It's the story of a boy from Pallet Town in Kanto who wants to become a pokémon master."

"That's stupid." Fran said with as much interest as Carmella did in her acrobatics. "It's impossible to conquer all the regions in one lifetime, because there are so many."

"He doesn't have to conquer them all," Carmella said, resting her book on her chest. "Just as many as his books come out. His trials and tribulations are realistic and tragic. I'm still on his first series." She momentarily went back to reading.

Fran's voice piped from behind the book. "Being a pokémon trainer is boring!"

Carmella finally closed the book, finding that she needed to teach Fran a lesson to get her to shut up. It had become increasingly personal, as becoming a strong pokémon trainer had been and is still one of Carmella's dreams, no matter how many times her parents say their simple and unrelenting "no".

"Being a pokémon trainer is one of the most difficult and rewarding occupations." She said, now sitting up, meeting Fran's eyes with that of a sizzling challenge. "It's not easy, Fran. You have to find pokémon, you need to tame them. You need to train them. You need to push your way to the top, beating gym leaders and rivals that come left and right, having the same goal as you—to be champion. You have to travel around the globe with very little money, surviving off forest berries and fending off wild pokémon. And if you _manage _to get all eight badges within a year, you get a chance at the Pokémon League."

Fran tried to say something, but Carmella cut her off, like slicing a bit of her tongue off.

"A _chance_ at the Leagues, Fran. Do you understand that? It means that you _made _it, that you conquered the region. But you know what? That is only a _tiny_ step of the entire journey. You only get one chance to keep yourself alive in those tournaments. Once you're beaten, it's done. An entire year of work gone down the drain. You remember Nate? He left last year, and he qualified for the league. But you know what? He lost. He lost in the fourth round, and the league sent his ass home. They gave him a heaping check with a lot of zeroes, and then they sent him home. Now he's home, soaking up the glory of being a half-rate runner up."

Carmella huffed, taking a breath. Fran stared at Carmella questioningly.

"Hmm."

"'Hmm'? That's all you've got to say?" Carmella spat.

"_Hmm_ as in, _Hmm, _I wish _I _was a pokémon trainer." Fran said, turning her arrogant stance around just like that. "I want a chance at the leagues! I want pokémon friends! I want to be a pokémon trainer!"

The topic had suddenly turned to something dangerously sour. Carmella knew that she had to turn this around immediately. "No Fran, you don't want to be a trainer. Weren't you listening to me? There's a small chance that you'll make it. Nate's sixteen, you're twelve! What makes you think you'll get _anywhere_?"

"I'll get everywhere because my pokémon will be strong!" Fran said blatantly, moving around now, as if she'd start running away.

"Fran, the last pokémon you had was the Budew you wanted on your 10th birthday, and it died a month later!" Carmella cried out, disbelieving. "If you can't take care of _one_ pokémon, what makes you think you can care for _six_!"

"You'll see!" Fran said, placing her hands on her hips complacently. "My birthday is next week and mommy and daddy will let me be a pokémon trainer! You'll see! I'll become a trainer, and I'll be better than that _Ash _guy you always read about!" She giggled, then turned and went back into the warm house, tracking snow. Carmella sat up, desperately watching her little sister trample up the last of the steps to where her parents were in the kitchen.

_Fran will get her wish_, Carmella thought bitterly. _Fran always gets what she wants. As if she knows what she's about to get herself into._

* * *

**Hey there! I'll make this short, since it's too early for long-winded notes. I created this with little direction of where I really want to go in the beginning, and I've still got a general idea. I don't plan on making this a usual journey-type story where A plus B times C happens; I've got a kind of saga thing in mind, half with Swinster and half with Carmella. Both will have their separate storylines until they finally collide. A story of love and survival for both, in their own conditions.**

**I thank you for coming and reading. Any comments are appreciated!**

**Also, this story is a just-for-fun kind of thing, and if it begins to stress me, I'll take longer breaks. I'm leaving no update schedule to this, so depending on viewership and length, this will be a month-by-month update instead of week-by-week like I usually do.**

**Once again, thanks for reading!**


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